The Quest

The Quest: Chapter 10

           

It was now the sunrise of the second day of their quest to rescue Merry and Pippin from the horde of uruk-hai. Aragorn lay quietly on the ground with his ear pressed against the solid earth, listening to the vibrations that reverberated throughout. Alannah followed Legolas as they ran to catch up to him, Gimli complaining about the lack of food and rest that they've had as he forced himself to keep the same pace as the rest of the group.

"Their pace has quickened, they must have caught our scent." Aragorn spoke aloud to himself. "Hurry!" He hollered back to everyone else.

"Come on Gimli!" Legolas called back to the dwarf. Alannah was grateful that Legolas's full attention had now shifted to the rescue of the hobbits instead of her as she thought of some way she could do more to help the halflings. The landscape was growing familiar to her the further they traveled and soon, she realized they were now approaching Rohan. Not only did Gandalf bring her to Rohan to stay in the court of King Theodon, but she remembered that this was also the same path her and Boromir had taken on their way to Rivendell. Alannah shook her head as she pushed the thought of Boromir away, unable to sort through the hurt he caused her as well as the loss of her friend.  

The four hunters made their way down the side of the cliff, now entering the rolling hills and plains of Rohan. Alannah noticed tracks in the mud when something familiar caught her eye. Stomped into the ground was a Lothlorien leaf brooch that secured all of the fellowships cloaks they all received from Lady Galadriel. She picked it up and handed it to Aragorn to inspect. Legolas made his way to stand next to her as he looked intently at it, all realizing one of the hobbits must have dropped it intentionally in hopes their trail would be found, leading to their rescue.

"Not idly do the leaves of Lothlorien fall." Aragorn muttered as he shoved the brooch in his pocket, his hopes now renewed.

Legolas hopefully grasped Alannah's hand and squeezed. "They very well may be alive." He smiled softly at her, glad to see some hope return to her eyes. She returned the gesture, and let her anger soften towards him when she heard his voice in her head, much like she heard Galadriel's in Lorien.

"Forgive me, meleth nin. I spoke before I could think." Legolas's voice rang clearly in her head, even though his mouth never moved. Alannah nodded her head and accepted the small kiss he planted on her cheek before he turned to follow Aragorn up a nearby hill. She pretended to follow Legolas, but instead allowed Gimli to pass her as she turned away and quietly ran in the direction of Edoras to ask King Theoden for aid in rescuing the hobbits.

~

Alannah was cautious as she traveled through the plains of Rohan, aware that there were orcs roaming freely. She was an easy target on her own and kept her hand on her sword so she could defend herself in a moment's notice. It had been a few hours since she left on her own and she felt sadness in her heart from leaving the group without warning. She looked back to the direction she knew Legolas and her friends had traveled, and could almost feel Legolas' blue eyes scanning the distance trying to locate her.

Night had fallen once again but instead of stopping to rest, she continued on foot and ran as fast as she could, willing herself to keep going until she saw the great city on the hill. She looked in the direction that Isengard should be in, though many miles away, and reminisced on the fond memories she had years ago of her time in the gardens that surrounded the mighty fortress. Saruman would occasionally allow Gandalf to bring Alannah to dwell there for a few weeks at a time and although he was not as warm and inviting as the Grey wizard, he was friendly enough to her. The cool wind chilled her skin as she crossed the plains still trying to piece together the fragments of her life. She counted the summers she could remember and still, they never added up to her current age as if they had been erased from her mind altogether. Alannah felt the small bottle in her pocket as she ran, knowing soon all would be revealed to her.